I'm happy to finally share my review of Marie-Josée Legault and Johanna Weststar's "Not All Fun and Games" for the Montreal Review of Books! It's come up a lot in conversations as a game dev; I really can't recommend the title enough for those doing research on the human aspect of the games industry. The sheer quantity (and quality!) of surveys, interviews, and research that went into this work is astounding. 🎉 🎮 https://lnkd.in/eVGTtEWK
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One of the many things of I love about indie game dev, and there are many, is the intimacy and power of small teams to do big things. Indie game devs may not have the big bucks like the studios, but they've got something even better: freedom. With small teams, everyone pitches in, wearing different hats and bringing their skills to the table. This closeness breeds creativity, letting them try wild ideas and take risks in game design. And you know what? It works. That tight-knit vibe not only sparks innovation but also leads to games that hit players right in the feels, making indie titles stand out in a big way. #indiegamedev #highperformanceteam #games #leadership
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Over the years I've been approached by folks who want to do remakes, sequels, or re-releases of my old games. But the source code is too often lost to the wind. Even a major licensed game like Shrek 2 at a top publisher like Activision can't be found. If my old games are indicative, the industry could do a better job of safeguarding its legacy. I doubt it’s the archivists at fault. I've known them--great and conscientious folks. Same with the top execs at the publishers. I suspect it's more about processes failing under drastic changes of ownership, location, etc--where expediency and other priorities overwhelm details like tracking source data of games often decades old. Food for thought. Sad to see the history of our industry disappear from all memory. #gamehistory #archives #publishing #process
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What games do our devs recommend for the holiday season? ❄️🎁 Senior Art Producer Nguyen Minh Thu Vuong has a couple of suggestions. "I can think of a few titles that I want to play, such as It Takes Two. It’s a nice, cozy game where you can play together with your loved ones, giving a sense of achievement whenever two players can collaborate to clear a level.” “The other game that I want to play would be the all-time favorite among artists - God of War Ragnarök. It’s an exciting title that has a very winter-ish theme, and that somewhat matches with the feeling of the holiday season!” What games do you recommend for the most wonderful time of the year? Tell us in the comments below! ⬇️
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What games do our devs recommend for the holiday season? ❄️🎁 Senior Art Producer Nguyen Minh Thu Vuong has a couple of suggestions. "I can think of a few titles that I want to play, such as It Takes Two. It’s a nice, cozy game where you can play together with your loved ones, giving a sense of achievement whenever two players can collaborate to clear a level.” “The other game that I want to play would be the all-time favorite among artists - God of War Ragnarök. It’s an exciting title that has a very winter-ish theme, and that somewhat matches with the feeling of the holiday season!” What games do you recommend for the most wonderful time of the year? Tell us in the comments below! ⬇️
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Co-Founder, co-CEO & CMO at Raftur Games | Innovator in Video Games and Brand Strategy | NeuroDiversity Advocate | Mentor & Advisor
The crucial phases in product management, including game development, are validation and iteration. Although you may be passionate about your game, it's essential to recognize that gamers have numerous options, this is a very competitive market and you must persuade them that your game is worth their precious time. To ensure alignment with gamers, there's no substitute for directly seeking their feedback and input. Begin with a modest approach by creating an MVP, testing it, refining it, testing it again, and refining it again based on feedback. Repeat this process until you are confident that your game meets the expectations of gamers. Only after reaching this point should you scale up and finalize your game. Think big but start small.
#1 issue I see with any gaming company, indie in particular, is the lack of vision and the inability to measure workload. Too many companies fail before release due to at least one of these factors. Do NOT make your first project as a company bigger than your capable of doing. Big projects are for companies that are settled in place with wiggle room to do the builds. Smartest move is to build a small scalable project with a small team that can define what the team CAN do at the present moment and what the team CAN'T do with the limited funding a new company generally has. Build clearly defined core mechanics without all the visual fluff and use it as a testing sample against the market. You'll find out really quickly if the project is a bust but it's a lot easier finding out sooner than later.
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The points in this article are how every indie game studio should be run! Don't fret. The current "hellscape" will become the future "heavenly" norm and the industry will be better for it. We promise. It's actually our core vision here at Camlann. And I'm glad to see indie voices are starting to be heard. Summed up: 1. Be lean 2. Diversify 3. Know who your audience is 4. Don't be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to income streams and sustainability https://lnkd.in/emuhZT4y #indiegames #pcgames #indiegamedev #gamingindustry
We asked indies at Day of the Devs how to survive the game industry hellscape
gamedeveloper.com
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#1 issue I see with any gaming company, indie in particular, is the lack of vision and the inability to measure workload. Too many companies fail before release due to at least one of these factors. Do NOT make your first project as a company bigger than your capable of doing. Big projects are for companies that are settled in place with wiggle room to do the builds. Smartest move is to build a small scalable project with a small team that can define what the team CAN do at the present moment and what the team CAN'T do with the limited funding a new company generally has. Build clearly defined core mechanics without all the visual fluff and use it as a testing sample against the market. You'll find out really quickly if the project is a bust but it's a lot easier finding out sooner than later.
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Just a heads up with some relevance to this: Right now Steam is having a MASSIVE giveaway of developer software as part of their Black Friday stuff through to Cyber Monday (28th). What is available as free developer software both in terms of multi media asset production, video/audio engineering and photo image editing/animation, is enough to completely outfit an indie company for production. Now not all the good stuff is free, but most of that which is still priced is increadibly discounted. This is nearly an unprecidented occurence, as not only is everything you need from V-Tubing to App building to Unity/Unreal production just there for the taking, there is enough good/up to industry snuff software to completely replace Adobe Creative Cloud for small teams and indies. This translates to a savings between 1500 and 2800 per year, per employee/person. Hop on the stuff and expand your library before the opportunity is gone.
#1 issue I see with any gaming company, indie in particular, is the lack of vision and the inability to measure workload. Too many companies fail before release due to at least one of these factors. Do NOT make your first project as a company bigger than your capable of doing. Big projects are for companies that are settled in place with wiggle room to do the builds. Smartest move is to build a small scalable project with a small team that can define what the team CAN do at the present moment and what the team CAN'T do with the limited funding a new company generally has. Build clearly defined core mechanics without all the visual fluff and use it as a testing sample against the market. You'll find out really quickly if the project is a bust but it's a lot easier finding out sooner than later.
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🚨 Tough News for Indie Devs 🚨 Hearing that Humble Games had to lay off all their employees after trying to sell the company really hits hard. It’s a reminder of how unpredictable and challenging the game development industry can be. For all my fellow game developers out there, this is a wake-up call. We need to: 🧩 Plan our finances carefully. Having a backup plan is crucial. 📈 Keep up with industry trends. Adapting quickly can be key to survival. It’s tough out there, but we can learn from these situations and support each other. What do you think? Have you faced similar challenges? Let’s talk about it in the comments. #GameDevelopment #IndieDev #IndustryNews #GameDevCommunity
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Leader/Creative Director/Producer/Project Director/Cinematics Director, former Blizzard Entertainment
Truth. Starting a game company is easy. Running a game company and making it profitable is hard.
A lot of people have no real understanding of how impossibly hard it is to start an independent game studio. Most are not cut out for it. Casually suggesting that someone “just go indie” 10 minutes after they have been through the traumatic experience of losing their job is reckless and cruel.
Narrative Director at Invoke Studios | Wizards of the Coast
2moSurprise, surprise, Miranda crafted something well-written and insightful. (not surprising at all)